Bad Chest Pain, can't sleep or breath well, what do I do??

[lostarcticfox]

Alright, I am a 22 year old female college student, overweight for my age, and have pretty bad anxiety, accompanied with heart palputations. I take 100mg of zoloft a day accompanies by 2mg zanex. But in the last three days, I have been experiencing chest pains, like a dull pain in the center of my chest at all times, but gets much worse when I breath in. Over the last day, it has become increasingly harder to breath, and more painful in the left side than the right.. Also, I feel as though my throat is too small, like there is a ball in it or something. I can't sleep because if I lay down my chest feels like it is pumping really hard, andI have extreme pain all throughout it. also feel some pain in back of neck to between the shulderblades when I breath in. Have been feeling very tired for the last week or so, lightheadedness, dizziness, and headache... Do you think all thisis related to anxiety, or is it something respiratorial? I have very little money, so another hospital trip is something I truly cannot offord unless it is extrememly important (since I have been to the hospital twice this year via 911 call thinking I was having a heart attack when it was just severe anxiety, hyperventilation, and heart palputations, all cardio tests came back fine except for fast rates) what do I do, what could it be? I'm scared.... Thanks for your time
Krystalrose

[National Jewish]

It is scary when you are not sure if your symptoms are due to anxiety or a problem with your heart or your lungs.  To find out the nature of the problem that is causing your symptoms a thorough physical exam needs to be done.  A chest x-ray is a good place to start to see if a lung problem is the cause.

Chest pain that worsens with breathing can be due to either a problem in the:  
· muscles, including the ribs, the cartilage, or the nerves that go to the muscles; or
· pleura, that is the lining of the inner chest wall and the lungs.
If your chest is sore when touched at the area where you feel the pain, it is almost certainly muscular.  If your chest is not sore when touched at the area where you feel the pain, it is probably coming from irritation of the pleura or a nerve that runs along the lower edge of the ribs, called the intercostal nerve.

Based upon your 2 hospital trips this year via 911 your symptoms are most likely due to hyperventilation.  Usually hyperventilation is related to a condition called panic disorder.  This unfortunately is a very bad name.  People who suffer from it do not always experience panic-type feelings.  In fact, we think that it is a disorder of the very deep part of your brain that controls your breathing.  This leads to frightening, but not harmful, “suffocation false alarms”.  In some people this triggers feelings of panic, but in others this just leads to intense feelings of “smothering” along with all the body symptoms.

Diaphragmatic breathing can help you move more air in and out of your lungs.  This is the most efficient way to breathe and may improve your symptoms.  Learning this technique will help you to breathe slowly, regularly, gently, and smoothly all of the time.  Here are the instructions:
· Breathe in slowly and deeply through your nose.
· While you breathe in, count 1, 2 and push your stomach out.
· Place your hand on your stomach so you can feel your stomach going out.  This promotes the use of your diaphragm and your lower respiratory muscles.
· Breathe out slowly and deeply through your mouth.  Imagine that you are breathing out through a straw by “pursing” your lips.
· While you slowly breathe out all the way, count 1, 2, 3, 4 and let your stomach relax.  You can feel your stomach going in with your hand.
You often can get help with this type of breathing by taking an introductory yoga class or checking out a videotape on yoga that focuses on breathing and relaxation.